let go

of course, making us "cultured" portlanders look so wonderful, someone from the city of roses had to do it.

that's the thing with portland. a lot of the white people like to tell themselves that they're not racist (for lack of a better word....partial maybe?), but really it's just undercover. you know, in the south, people are very up front about what type of people they don't like. but portland, people pride themselves on being liberal, and progressive, yadda yadda. actually for the people who moved into the inner city, it's more about feeling "cultured" while at the same time not truly wanting anything to do with black people.

from what i see, the white people who have flocked to the inner city want to be surrounded by other white people. yet they'll talk all day about how portland has so much culture. it's pretty interesting.

i totally digress.

back to the news article.

i don't understand why so many white people can't seem to just let go. let go of the fact that black people have and will continue to overcome the past oppression. some just refuse to let racism die. why?? it's as though they're still hoping to benefit from black oppresssion and refuse to accept the "possibility" of total equality.

that's not racist

it's taken me a while to become more motivated to write, and yes, here in "white" portland, oregon of course there is always some nonsense to write about.

why is it that white people always feel the need to tell black people what is racist and what's not?
note to white people: if a black person is offended by a (what they consider to be) racial remark, do not attempt to tell them WHY it is NOT racist.

i see this all the time and recently experienced it. my husband and i have a friend who lives nearby, a white woman who we've known for not very long down the block (some of my readers may know that we recently bought a house in the beaumont/alameda neighborhood). she's a great person, she means well, but cannot catch a clue to save her life. she's one of those italians with the really thick, tightly curled hair. i've heard her complain that her hair is 'nappy'. okay, that's fine, maybe so. that doesn't offend me. shoot, it probably is nappy. but she had the nerve to call one of my kids, 'nappyhead'.

that's where i draw the line. i told her that that was racist, that i didn't appreciate it, and she went on to tell me that it 'was not a racist remark' because she too had nappy hair. so that made it okay.

but people in portland somehow feel so open and so "progressive" and so cultural even though it's not really diverse at all. there's the FEELING of diversity because they pass by a black person while jogging, or walking down alberta street. so i think white people think that they can define or determine what is racist talk and what is not.